TLDR
This video provides guidance on writing a personal statement, focusing on how to effectively open the essay. It starts by identifying four common mistakes to avoid: overly grand ambiguous statements, meta-writing (writing about writing the essay), starting with a popular quote, and giving away the essay’s conclusion at the beginning. Then, it presents nine specific techniques for crafting an engaging opening, including the “Full Hemingway” (image-based description), “Mini Hemingway” (brief image with context), “Twist Opening” (subverting expectations), “Philosophical Question,” “Confession Opening” (sharing a personal fact), “Trailer Opening” (preview of what’s to come), “Fascinating Concept Opening” (introducing an intriguing idea), “Random Personal Fun Fact,” and “Shocking Image Opening.” The video emphasizes that while the opening is important, the entire essay should showcase the skills, qualities, values, and interests the writer brings to a college campus.
✅ AI Essay Writer ✅ AI Detector ✅ Plagchecker ✅ Paraphraser
✅ Summarizer ✅ Citation Generator
This article is a summary of a YouTube video “How to Hook Your Reader & Write Better College Essay Openings” by College Essay Guy
Key insights
- Avoid Common Mistakes in Openings: The speaker identifies four common mistakes to avoid in the opening lines of a personal statement: using overly grandiose statements, writing about the process of writing the essay, starting with a cliché quote, and revealing the essay’s conclusion upfront.
- Engaging Opening Techniques: Nine different techniques are suggested for starting a personal statement, each aiming to engage the reader immediately. These include creating vivid imagery, presenting a twist, posing a philosophical question, making a personal confession, providing a sneak peek (trailer opening), introducing a fascinating concept, sharing a random personal fun fact, and using a shocking image to grab attention.
- Balancing Detail and Context: The speaker emphasizes the importance of balancing specific details or imagery with context to give readers a sense of direction. For instance, the “Mini Hemingway” approach involves starting with a specific image and quickly providing context to guide the reader.
- Creating Curiosity and Engagement: The different opening techniques are designed to pique the reader’s curiosity and maintain their engagement. By raising questions or presenting intriguing scenarios, the essay encourages readers to continue exploring the writer’s story and perspectives.
- The Importance of the Essay’s Body: While a compelling opening is important, the speaker stresses that the key to an effective personal statement lies in its body. The middle of the essay should showcase the writer’s skills, qualities, values, and interests, painting a comprehensive picture of what they will bring to the college campus.
- Personal Connection and Vulnerability: Techniques like the “confession opening” and “random personal fun fact” suggest the importance of personal connection and vulnerability in a personal statement. Revealing personal, sometimes quirky aspects of oneself can make the essay more relatable and memorable.
Timestamped Summary
- 0:00 – 0:20 – Introduction: The importance of a compelling opening in personal statements and an overview of what the video will cover, including common mistakes, specific opening techniques, and the presenter’s favorite personal statement opening.
- 0:25 – 1:59 – Discussion of four common essay opening mistakes: overly grand ambiguous statements, meta-writing (writing about writing the essay), starting with a popular quote, and revealing the essay’s conclusion at the beginning.
- 2:01 – 3:53 – The first two of nine techniques for starting a personal statement: the “Full Hemingway” (image-based description) and the “Mini Hemingway” (a brief image with context).
- 3:57 – 5:20 – Additional techniques: the “Twist Opening” (subverting expectations), the “Philosophical Question” (posing a thought-provoking question), and the “Confession Opening” (sharing a personal fact).
- 5:42 – 7:26 – More opening strategies: the “Trailer Opening” (providing a preview of the essay), the “Fascinating Concept Opening” (introducing an intriguing idea), the “Random Personal Fun Fact,” and the “Shocking Image Opening.”
- 7:40 – 10:01 – Emphasis on raising questions and maintaining interest throughout the essay, and the importance of the essay’s body in showcasing the writer’s skills, qualities, values, and interests.
- 10:32 – 11:59 – Presentation of the speaker’s favorite personal statement opening and concluding thoughts on the key to writing an effective personal statement, stressing that the body of the essay is as important as the opening.
Q&A
Related
Follow us on Reddit for more insights and updates.
More from Academic Writing Tips
Comments (0)
Welcome to A*Help comments!
We’re all about debate and discussion at A*Help.
We value the diverse opinions of users, so you may find points of view that you don’t agree with. And that’s cool. However, there are certain things we’re not OK with: attempts to manipulate our data in any way, for example, or the posting of discriminative, offensive, hateful, or disparaging material.